Example embodiments of the inventive concept relate to semiconductor memory devices, and in particular, to storage devices and to methods of operating storage devices.
A storage device is used to store data, under control of a host device (e.g., a computer, a smart phone, a smart pad, and so on). The storage device may include magnetic storage devices (e.g., a hard disk drive (HDD)) and semiconductor storage devices (e.g., a non-volatile memory device configured as a solid state drive (SSD), a memory card, and so on).
Examples of non-volatile memory include a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, a phase-change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), a resistive RAM (RRAM), a ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), and so on.
Progress in semiconductor fabrication technologies has allowed for a rapid increase in integration density and memory capacity of the semiconductor storage device, and generally, the higher the integration density of the semiconductor storage device, the lower the cost per bit of the semiconductor storage device. However, the increase in integration density of the storage device and the consequent scaling down of the storage device have lead to various new technical issues, such as an increase in missing data and deterioration in data reliability.